


Despite Our Struggles

by LilJessMo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Health Issues, High School AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 15:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9826001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilJessMo/pseuds/LilJessMo
Summary: Riley Edwards has been adopted into the Edwards family. Not only does she have to deal with her new family, but she must deal with the people at school as well, including Harry Styles, who doesn't seem to like her very much.She also has a huge secret. Will she be able to get through it alone? Or will she find support where she least expects it?There will be lots of unexpected twists along the way. Will everyone be able to make it through? Anything could happen.





	1. Chapter 1

I smiled as the smell of pancakes had wavered into my room. I slowly opened my eyes to only see my white ceiling. Today was September 16th. First day of school. My new school I should say, Bridgewater High. Even though I had been living in Cheshire my whole life, this was my first time attending Bridgewater. I'm sure it will be a thrill.

"Riley? Honey. Hurry up! School starts in thirty minutes!" Helen yelled from downstairs.

Quickly, I sat up and hurried around the room like speed racer. Hurrying to find a top, skirt and shoes. Thankfully Helen had placed fresh clean clothes in my closet, so it wasn't a struggle to find clothes.

After getting dressed, doing my hair and applying my makeup, I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder and walked downstairs. The smell of pancakes were stronger and I entered the kitchen to see Helen was at the stove, flipping pancakes and Claire was sitting at the table, multitasking by eating her pancakes and texting.

"I'm ready." I said enthusiastically as I stood in the archway of the kitchen. Helen looked over at me and smiled softly.

"Oh Riley. You look beautiful, darling." Helen complimented nicely. I nodded.

"Thanks Helen. That's very nice of you to say." I replied. Helen's smile wavered a bit.

"You can call me mom, Riles. You're allowed to do that." Helen reminded me for the thousandth time since I've arrived at the Edwards home.

"I know, I know. When I'm ready." I explained shortly to Helen. Helen smiled a bit before returning to flipping pancakes. I was ready to sit down at the table, when Claire stood up, threw her plate into the sink noisily and brushed past me to the front door. "Claire?" Helen said. "You have to wait for Riley." Claire scoffed and looked at us from over her shoulder.

"Why should I? She isn't even my sister, mom." Claire spat. I cringed a bit at her words. I mean, I should be used to it by now, this was normal Claire behavior. Since I've arrived here, she's been nothing but rude and anytime Helen tells her to act nice, she doesn't. I'll have to grow use to it.

"Claire Sofia Edwards! Apologize to your sister now!" Helen demanded. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm sorry Riley. Happy, mom?" Claire said, annoyed. Helen nodded.

"Ugh. Hurry up, Riley. I'm not gonna wait around for you." Claire scoffed before heading off to the front door. I looked back at Helen and she sighed.

"Have a nice day at school, Riley." Helen murmured. I nodded.

"I sure hope so." I agreed. Then I walked towards the front door, ready for school.

Claire slammed the car door and walked quickly down the sidewalk, I followed her, trying to keep up.

"Claire? Claire, can you help me find my classes?" I asked in a small voice. She spun around on her heel and faced me.

"Listen here, Riley." Claire spat. "You don't talk to me at lunch if I come over to the high school to see some people. You don't wave at me or come up to me and my friends either. We don't know each other here. Got it?" She explained harshly. I gulped and nodded.

"Crystal clear, Claire." I replied. Claire stood up straighter and sighed, spinning around on her heel to walk away when some brunette stood in front of her.

"Hey Claire." the preppy brunette looked around Claire's shoulder to see me. "Uhm.. Shoo?" the brunette said harshly. I stood there with my jaw slacked, not sure how to move at the moment.

"Shoo means to get the fuck out, doll face." A deeper voice said. I looked up under my lashes to see a boy with curly brunette hair and dark green eyes. I quickly curved around them and walked quickly towards the school. I could still hear their conversation behind me.

"Thanks Harry for getting rid of her." Claire thanked.

"No problem, Claire. Anything to help out a friend." Harry replied with, his voice sounded smug, he probably was.

"Alright then, lets go or we'll miss our morning class, Claire." the other girl said. I notice their voices drift away as they walked towards the college which was nearby the high school. Although, I felt the guy, Harry, brush past me, making me stop in my tracks. Harry looked back at me and scoffed. "Freak." He muttered, but it was loud enough for me to hear. This was sure to be interesting. Very interesting.

It was easy to get lost at Bridgewater High. That was for sure. The halls were crowded with people. My first time at a actual school. God, this was surely embarrassing. I had my small nose stuck in my schedule all morning searching for my classes. I managed to attend first period with Mr. Hunter in History late and I almost got written up for it. Which was idiotic if you ask me, but of course, I wouldn't tell Mr. Hunter that. He seems to have a short temper. Anyway, here I was. Wandering around the halls like a lost puppy. I was trying to find advanced English with Ms. Parker. It was a supposed advanced class for Juniors and rarely do Sophomores attend, but hey, here I was.

"Shh. Keep quiet." A high voice said.

I had stopped in my tracks and looked around confused. Who even was that?

"I am keeping quiet, but you're being the loud one here, Sarah." A deep familiar voice said. It was Harry. I remember now. The boy I saw earlier today talking to Claire, the one all dressed in black. The rude and disrespectful one.

Allowing my curiosity to get the better of me, I decided to hear further about the conversation.

"We're gonna get in trouble, Harry!" The high pitched female voice which was Sarah's exclaimed loudly.

"Shh! God, Sarah. I told you to keep quiet." Harry said in a hush voice. There was a bout of silence before I heard sucking sounds down the hall, A disgusted look came across my face and I decided not to listen any further. This was already gross. Skipping class for make outs? What was the fun in that.

After more walks around the dead halls, I found Ms. Parker's English room. I turned the doorknob and all eyes were on me. I looked at what was I assumed the teacher, a middle aged woman with a bad hair cut and a old cardigan looked over at me.

"Well. Hello. How may I help you?" Ms. Parker asked, pushing her glasses higher up on her face. I gulped before answering her.

"I'm Riley. Riley Edwards. I'm suppose to be in your class." I said in a soft voice. Ms. Parker nodded slowly. "Well.. You're twenty minutes late, Riley." Ms. Parker said.

Some chuckles erupted from the class, I could feel my ears get red hot from embarrassment.

"Quiet down. Quiet down." Ms. Parker said looking at her class, she turned back to me. "Go take a seat, Riley." she added. I nodded and quickly took a desk in the middle of the classroom behind a empty desk with some belongings in the chair.

Halfway through Ms. Parker spiel about her class and her classroom expectations. Harry burst through the room with a huge smile on his face. Ms. Parker turned her attention to Harry who stood by the door with a huge grin still plastered on his face.

"Mr. Styles. You've been out of class for thirty minutes. The class is almost over. Now I know that using the bathroom doesn't take that long." Ms. Parker said, more chuckles erupted from the class. Harry shrugged and started walking to his desk.

"I got caught up in some stuff." Harry lied. I knew he was somewhat lying. He was making out with Sarah which is getting caught up in some stuff, but he missed class because of it, which was pretty stupid in my book. Ms. Parker rolled her eyes.

"Oh whatever, Mr. Styles. Just sit down and try to stay in class for the remainder of two minutes alright?" Ms. Parker said in a bit of a sarcastic tone. More of the class giggled and Harry's smile faltered, he walked towards me and I realized that he sat in front of me. The thrashed black backpack belonged to him along with the torn binder as well which was laying on his desk. He shoved it in his bag quickly and looked over his shoulder at me.

"I didn't know that they allowed freaks into advanced English classes." Harry sneered lowly enough for me and a couple others to hear too. I tightened my fist and scowled.

"I didn't know that they allowed ditchers into advanced English classes either." I remarked sharply, but louder. Some people nearby had heard the remark and laughed. As if on cue, Ms. Parker looked over at me and Harry.

"Mr. Styles? Ms. Edwards? Any problems?" Ms. Parker questioned. I shook my head quickly, trying not to blush.

"None at all, Ms. Parker." I said quickly, more like lied quickly. Ms. Parker nodded slowly and turned back to the board.

Soon the bell shrilled and I walked out of the classroom, my schedule out, looking for my next class, but soon I felt a hand on my arm and pull my roughly. I looked up to see Harry had me by the arm.

"What the fuck did you see?" Harry sneered. I furrowed my brows.

"I don't understand..?" I asked slowly, Harry's grip on my arm became tighter.

"What did you see in the halls? I know you saw something. What the hell did you see?" Harry scowled. I gulped and answered softly. "I saw you making out with some girl named Sarah. Or I heard you two making out."

Harry let go of my arm and I quickly placed a hand over the place where he grabbed me.

"You don't say a damn word. Alright?" Harry said lowly, getting close to my face. I could smell his cologne that he was wearing, it smelled good. Smelled good on him. I nodded quickly and Harry sighed, getting away from me, he took one last look at me before disappearing into the crowd of students going to class. I stayed against the rusty lockers, still somewhat confused as of to what had just happened. Deciding that it was nothing, I just walked away looking for my PE class with Ms. Quincy, hoping that him or Sarah weren't in my class.

Although as I entered the gym, I saw a peppy blond with the same voice as Sarah. There she was. I sighed heavily and pushed through the gym, promising myself to keep my mouth shut for Harry. Even if I didn't like him all that much, I said I wouldn't say a word. And I always keep my word.


	2. Bond Over a Jerk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley makes a new friend and Harry oversteps a boundary. We meet Louis & Liam. High school drama ensues.

So far, my day had consisted of being yelled at by Claire, being in an awkward situation by hearing Harry and Sarah make out during class, getting into an argument with Harry which was a bit too scary for my taste. But somehow during fourth period, PE I had met someone who didn't scare me or hate me. Her name was Daphne. Daphne Stone.

"Hi! You must be the new girl. Riley, right? I'm Daphne." She greeted herself while sitting next to me on the bleachers. I looked her over. She had a light dark skin color, big brown eyes, clothes that Claire would wear and a oversized bag she placed by her feet. I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah.. I'm Riley. Riley Edwards." I said, introducing myself. Daphne' eyes widened. "Edwards.. As in Claire Edwards?" Daphne said, using the emphasis on Claire's name.

Quickly then I was frozen. What do I say? Claire swore me to never mention that we were "sisters". She didn't want to be embarrassed by her new "sister".

I gulped and answered softly.

"N-No." I stuttered. Daphne cocked an eyebrow at me. "I mean.. I'm not related to Claire. Whoever she is. I'm not related to her. I have no siblings." I lied as smoothly as I could try. Daphne nodded slowly and smiled.

"You're so lucky to not have any siblings. Its so annoying. My older brother, Jake? Yeah, tall Indian man who likes to sing and play guitar even though he's horrible at it?" Daphne asked describing a basic taller, male version of herself.

I furrowed my brows and tried to remember someone looking similar to Daphne But I couldn't, so I just shrugged. Daphne shrugged herself.

"He can be sooooo annoying." Daphne said using very much emphasis on the 'so'. I nodded. I knew what Daphne's "pain" was like. Having Claire as a older sister was pretty tough too, with having to deal with her mood swings and her nineteen year old fits. It was pretty horrible to be honest, but I wouldn't tell Helen or Claire that. I wouldn't want to offend either of them.

The rest of the period consisted of the manly looking, Ms. Quincy telling us how our sophomore year of PE will be going and what PE clothes we'll need to wear and what not. The bell shrilled and I stood up with Daphne, I was ready to walk away, but she quickly grabbed my arm.

"Hey! Wanna hang out with me at lunch?" She asked with a sweet smile. I sighed and nodded, adding a smile of my own. It was better than eating alone.

Daphne and I walked side by side as she led me to the cafeteria. I saw how crowded the cafeteria can get, Daphne must have noticed my big eyes because she placed a reassuring hand on my arm.

"Don't freak out, Riley. This is NOTHING compared to the Juniors and Seniors eating in here. They're lucky they have cars to drive to some place for lunch. Some Sophomores and maybe even Freshman's are lucky enough to hitch a ride with them." Daphne explained. I nodded slowly and followed her to where we were getting our food.

After getting our trays filled with rather gross looking food, I followed Daphne to a table where two people were sitting at.

"Hey, Sarah!" Alli said with a smile, she leaned over the table to give Sarah a hug. I gulped yet again. Daphne was friends with Sarah? This was sure to be awkward. "Daphne!" Sarah exclaimed, hugging her back before sitting back down. Sarah looked at me and smiled lightly. "Hi. I'm Sarah. You must be Roland, right?" Sarah asked. I shook my head.

"No.. Uhm.. I'm Riley. I'm in your PE class." I said softly. Sarah cocked an eyebrow oddly.

"Oh." She said before picking at her food. I mentally kicked myself for that, she must think that I'm watching her or something weird like that. Great.

I took a seat next to Daphne and I ate in silence as Daphne and Sarah gossiped. I felt the table shift and I looked up from my disgusting meal to see a very poise girl with curly hair sit next to Daphne. She pulled a salad from her bag carefully and grabbed a napkin, laying it out on her lap nice and smooth. She soon began to eat her salad peacefully.

Daphne looked over to me and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Riley. Fiona can be so RUDE sometimes." Daphne said loud enough for Fiona to hear. Fiona looked up from her salad and blushed slightly. She reached her long pale hand over to me.

"Hello. I'm Fiona. Fiona Gilmore." Fiona said, introducing herself. I smiled slightly and shook her cold hand.

"Hi.. I'm Riley." I said. Fiona nodded and returned back to eating her salad.

I looked back to Sarah to see that her spot was actually empty. I looked around the cafeteria for her and saw that she was with some guy not too far from us. The guy had light brown hair, tall guy and a huge goofy smile. Sarah was talking and giggling around him, they looked like a couple. But they couldn't be.. Sarah was kissing Harry, Harry was kissing Sarah. Obviously Harry and Sarah were dating. But my thoughts were wrong as I saw Sarah reach up on her tip toes to kiss the guy on his smiling lips, his arms wrapping around her waist and holding her close. A very passionate and couple-like kiss. So these two were together.

At this moment my brain was pretty jumbled. So far, I had heard Sarah and Harry making out and now she was kissing some other guy? Wasn't that considered cheating? Was she cheating on Harry? Or on this guy? Either way.. Sarah was cheating and in public. Quickly realizing that this was NONE of my business I returned back to my gross food.

Moments passed and Sarah returned to the table with a huge smile on her face.

"Kissing Liam again, Sarah?" Daphne asked in a teasing tone. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Shut it, Daphne. Of course we were kissing." Sarah said in a harsh way. Daphne smiled smugly.

"Eventually you know who will find out, Sarah." Daphne said. Sarah looked puzzled as she looked at Daphne .

"You know who..? Are you referring to those stupid wizard books?" Sarah said in a disgusted voice. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"No, Sarah. Look over there." Daphne said, nodding to her right. Out from the corner of my eye I saw who Daphne was talking about, Harry had walked into the cafeteria with another guy with spiked black hair. I saw as Liam walked over to them and did some sort of special handshake with Harry so they were friends.. This was equally awkward.

Sarah's eyes widened.

"Daphne.. I told you to never say a word." Sarah said in a hushed voice, probably hoping that me or Fiona wouldn't hear. Daphne sighed.

"Sarah.. Liam's gonna find out sometime. Guys like to brag. Guys like Harry." Daphne explained in a equal hush voice.

Out of curiosity, I looked up to see that Harry had made his way over to Sarah with Liam and another guy not too far behind. Liam scoffed at Daphne' words and cleared his throat. Daphne and Sarah both looked at him, their eyes widening. Harry smirked and pulled a chair out and instead of sitting down, he stood on it.

"Student body of Bridgewater!" Eli yelled, everyone in the cafeteria placed their eyes on him. Harry looked down at Daphne and grew a smug look on his face.

"Ladies and Gentledicks of Bridgewater . It has been brought to my attention that some shit may be spread around about me and I'm not here yelling that its not true, but I feel like I should return this favor to Miss Daphne Stone." Harry explained. I looked over at Daphne panicked and her face turned red, I could tell she wanted to bolt out of there.

"As you all know, last semester, Daphne and my boy, Louis Tomlinson broke up. So sad right?" Harry said. Daphne looked as if she was about to cry.

"Harry... Please.. I wasn't gonna say a word." Daphne pleaded. Harry scoffed looking down at Daphne and murmured.

"You're just a piece of dog shit, Miss." Harry spat lowly. Daphne sank back into her seat next to me. Harry stood up straight and smirked.

"Well.. The real reason behind that breakup was because Miss Daphne here enjoyed-ahem, well Daphne here enjoyed kissing other guys behind my man, Louis' back." Harry announced loudly. Some gasps and giggles were heard through the cafeteria. I looked over at Louis, I guess that was his name, and he just shook his head at Harry and looked down without a word.

I looked over at Daphne who was already crying, she scooted from her seat and ran from the cafeteria in tears. I yelled, "Daphne!" and quickly went after her ignoring looks from Sarah, Fiona and Harry.

I slowly pushed open the girls washroom door, immediately the strong smell of perfume hit my nose, making me gag. I walked into the washroom and looked to see a girl with big curly hair and in extremely high heels spraying perfume on and holding a cigarette in her hand. She looked at me through the mirror and scoffed.

"Looking at something, new girl?" The girl spat. I gulped and shook my head, averting my eyes to the ground.

"Well.. No one just walks into the washroom for no reason. Either you're here to take a piss or do your hair and makeup. And by the looks of it.. I'm guessing you need to do your makeup?" The girl asked. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"..No.. I came in here to see if Daphne was alright." I said. The girl sighed and cocked a brow.

"Figures. Classic clichéd friendship moment. You find Daphne crying in a bathroom stall, you guys have a heart to heart and then strengthen your friendship." The girl said. I placed my hands on my hips."And you know all of this how..?" I asked with a bit more sass than I meant. The girl scoffed and put her perfume down and threw her cigarette in the sink, turning the water on to burn it out. She spun on her heel and came face to face with me.

"Listen here.." The girl stumbled for words and I stammered,

"Riley.. My name is Riley." I said. The girl had this smug look on her face.

"Such a sweet and innocent name.. Riley. Sounds like a name of a person who wouldn't do anything bad, am I right, Riley?" The girl asked, getting closer to me. I could smell the heavily smell of smoke come from her breath, making me want to gag. Instead I just nodded at her words. The girl nodded and stepped back.

"You seem squeamish. Like.. A tweaked out rabbit." The girl said with disgust. She walked back to collect her black purse, she slung the purse over her shoulder and looked at me.

"My name's Bianca by the way. Bianca Delrossi in case you're wondering." Bianca said. I didn't say anything, I just looked down at my shoes. Bianca sighed and brushed past me for the door, once it closed I looked up and heard something clang from one of the bathroom stalls. I took slow steps down the row of stalls.

"D-Daphne?" I stammered. I heard nothing. As I walked down the row more, I saw a phone by one of the stalls, which was closed. I picked up the phone and out of curiosity, unlocked it to see a picture of Daphne and Fiona as the background. I smiled slightly, knowing that Daphne was beyond the door. I turned towards the door and knocked on it.

"Daphne?" I asked. This time, I heard sniffles and a slight yelp. I sighed and leaned against the stall.

"Daph.. Is what Harry said in the cafeteria true?" I asked in a small voice. I heard more sniffles and more weight again the door, Daphne must have been leaning against it as well.

"Yeah.. Harry.. He was right. I-I cheated on Louis last semester at a party." Daphne explained in a whisper. I looked down, twirling her phone in my hands.

"Well.. Why would Harry even say something personal like that in front of the student body?" I asked. Daphne groaned.

"Because the asshole thought I was gonna spread the word around that he and Sarah have been hooking up behind Liam's back.. I mean sure its true, I know you heard me and Sarah's conversation, right, Riles?" Daphne asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I heard it. Sarah whispers pretty loud." I said. Daphne sniffled again.

"Yeah.. I know. I'm pretty sure Fiona knows too, unless she zoned out again, but.. Anyway. Harry thought I was gonna say that he and Sarah have been hooking up, so he did the most douche bag thing ever and just say what I did to Louis at that party." Daphne explained. I placed a hand on the door.

"Oh Daphne.. I'm so sorry." I apologized.  
Daphne sighed.

"Its no big deal. Eventually everyone would have known anyway. Louis would have opened his mouth like he used too and just tell everyone that I cheated on him." Daphne said. I felt the lock shift on the door and I stepped away to see a red faced Daphne emerge from the stall. She had her green bag slung on her shoulder and looked up at me with red eyes.

"Already your first day at Bridgewater and you already learn a personal secret." Daphne said lightly, trying to lift the mood. I chuckled.

"Yeah. I guess so. Is this school as bad though?" I asked. Daphne shrugged.

"It just matters on what type of drama you're into, Riley." Daphne simply said.

"But what if I'm into no drama?" I asked, Daphne giggled and started walking towards the sinks. "Oh Riley.. At Bridgewater, you're gonna have drama. Whether it be mild or severe. You'll have some sort of drama here." Daphne explained while wiping her face with a paper towel.

Once Daphne was done, I returned her phone to her and she smiled at the background."So.. You and Fiona are pretty close right?" I asked as Daphne pushed the washroom door open. She nodded."Yep. Even though she's a couple years older than me, we're still friends. She's really cool when she isn't zoning out." Daphne said with a smile, I returned the smile.

As we walked down the hall in silence, I saw Harry and Louis standing by the lockers, Harry nodded his head towards us in a smug way, I quickly threw him a dirty look which was very out of character for even me and Harry was thrown off by it, but he returned to his smug demeanor. I groaned.

"He can be so-" I started, but Daphne quickly cut me off.

"Asshole? Douchebag? Dick? Prick? Yeah, he pretty much is." Daphne said as we turned down another hall.

"Just.. Don't go for him. Alright, Riley?" Alli asked. I nodded."Of course.. Plus I don't wanna date during high school anyway." I said. Daphne scrunched her face up."And why is that?" She asked. I shrugged. "Grades. I don't wanna be distracted by a boy." I explained quickly. "Ahh.. I catch you there." Daphne agreed in a way.

The bell shrilled and Daphne gave me a quick hug. "Thanks Riley. I'll call you later, okay?" She said before rushing off to her next class.

I sighed and turned around, almost running into someone."Watch where you're going freak." Harry spat. I looked up to see him glaring down at me, before he shouldered me to get to his class. I looked back at him and shook off the feeling to go after him and ask him what his problem was. But to be honest, that isn't any of my business.


	3. Such Great Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we get to see Harry's home life... it's pretty painful.

Riley's Point of View:

I sat in the passenger seat of Claire's car, with the window rolled down, I felt the air hit my face nicely. I closed my eyes and stuck my hand out , feeling the cool air against my bare hand. It was a nice moment, a moment I wanted to last forever. Although I felt the window start to roll up and I quickly opened my eyes and pulled my hand back in. I looked over at Claire, distressed to see that she was pressing a button in her car to roll the window up. She looked over at me, I couldn't even see her eyes while she wore those overly sized sunglasses. "You don't need the goddamn window open, Riley. Its not hot." Claire said harshly. I sighed. "Sorry Claire." I apologized. "I just liked the feeling of the cool air.. I'm sorry." I apologized again in a small voice. She groaned and stopped the car abruptly, sending me to fly forward in my seat, but luckily the seatbelt locked and sent me back into the seat. I looked up to see that it was Harry and Louis jaywalking across the dead street. Claire quickly rolled her window down and stuck her head out."You know, there is a thing called a crosswalk. Use it sometime, assholes!" She yelled. Harry stopped in his tracks and walked towards us, Louis was on his heels. Claire stuck her head back in as Harry crouched down to look at us. I quickly turned the other way, putting my book in front of my face to hide my face and curls.

"Who's your little friend, Claire?" Harry asked in a smug voice. Claire scoffed.

"None of your goddamn business. Now run along home with your friend." Claire said quickly, I could tell she wanted to get out of here, I couldn't blame her, I wanted to get out of here too.

"Aw.. Well Claire, I was hoping me and Louis could catch a lift from you. You know, Morty's broken down again and I'm forced to walk home, I just want a lift from a cute girl." Harry said in a flirty tone. Claire groaned."Ugh. Harry. You're sixteen. Stop hitting on me. Declan's not gonna approve of that very well." Claire said annoyed. Harry clicked his tongue."Declan? I thought you said he was some rich kid snob. That you didn't wanna be around such a conceited asshole." Harry asked.

"Well he's better than you." Claire spat. I bit the inside of my cheek to hide my smile that wanted to creep on my face."Ouch Claire.. That hurt." Harry said. "But whatever. I'll just walk home with Louis here. But if you ever get tired of Declan.. You know where to reach me." Harry said.

Once I heard the window roll up, I carefully removed the book from my face. I looked out the window to see that Harry and Louis were already out of sight down the street. Claire continued to drive and I sighed."Who's Declan?" I asked. Claire shrugged."Just a guy." She answered. "Is he your.. Boyfriend?" I asked curiously. I wanted to know more. Hearing Harry bring him up, I wanted to know more.

"No.. I mean yes. Ugh. I don't know, Riley. Declan and me.. We're very.. I don't know.. Ugh. Why do you even care?" Claire asked annoyed. I shrugged.

"I don't know.. Sounds interesting." I said. Claire most likely rolled her eyes."Well. If you ever see him at Bridgewater, don't say anything about me to him. Don't even say that we know each other, okay? I don't need people to know that" I said in a small voice.

The rest of the car drive home was quiet. Just the way it needed to be.

Arriving home I was on Claire's trail as we walked inside. Claire dropped her purse on the couch and threw herself on the couch, pulling her laptop off the table and logging on, sticking her headphones in and going into her own little world.

I trudged into the kitchen to see that Helen was at the table on her iPhone. She looked up at me and her smile faltered. "Bad first day?" Helen asked sympathetically. I shook my head.

"I really don't wanna talk about it, Helen. Sorry." I said quickly as I bolted up the stairs. I swung open my bedroom door and flung myself on my bed. I looked to my right to see the snow globe I brought with me from the orphanage. I pushed thoughts of Harry from my mind and picked the snow globe up and tipped it over, watching the white flakes swirl around the snowman. I smiled slightly looking at the happy snowman. He was my only friend at the orphanage, looks like he'll be my only friend at home as well.

Harry's Point of View:

I walked down the deserted street with Louis walking next to me. I bent down, picked up a rock and threw it as far as I could down the street, I heard it clang farther down the street and I smiled. "My aim's getting better. Who knows. Maybe I'll be able to join the football team like you did." I said with a chuckle as I looked at Lou. He didn't say anything, he just looked down as we walked. I sighed. "Dude. I was kidding. As if I'd join a team filled with guys with tiny brains and steroid bodies. That's not my thing." I reassured him. Louis just shrugged and continued to not say a word. I groaned.

"Are you pissed off because of what happened in the café today?" I asked annoyed. Louis looked at me from the corner of his eye and just shrugged, looking back down at the ground that we walked on. I sighed.

"Look dude. Daphne was gonna spill the beans about me and Sarah. I couldn't let her do that, so I just had to give her a taste of her own medicine. Nothing big." I explained, looking over at Louis

He sighed and spoke softly.

"Daphne was really upset though."

I groaned loudly.

"Please don't tell me you still have feelings for that harlot? The whore cheated on you last semester. She doesn't deserve you man." I said truthfully.

"But.. But.. I still lo-" I quickly cut him off before he could say the forbidden word.

"Louis! Don't even, bro. Don't ever say the L word. Never. It means nothing bro. Its just a stupid made up word that women made up to feel loved. But it never means shit." I said angrily. Louis didn't say another word as we walked back to my place. Either my words were sinking into his head.. Or he was just thinking again. Nowadays.. I never know.

I opened the front door to my house with Louis on my heels. Immediately I saw my mom in the living room, a little hesitant.

"H-Hi honey." She said softly. I had that heart stopping feeling. She was never this hesitant unless something bad was gonna happen.

"Mom? What happened..?" I asked slowly. I looked around, looking for broken glasses or picture frames. Something that indicated that something bad had already happened.

"Maybe Louis should go home, honey. Uhm.. Your father isn't very pleased right now." she said softly. Before I could even ask why he was, I heard stomping coming downstairs. My dad was surely angry, he stopped midway down the stairs and looked at me coldly in the eye."Tell your little friend, goodbye, Harry. We need to talk." Des said angrily. I gulped and looked back to see that Louis was looking down away from Des.

"But.. Dad. Me and Lou we were gonna study and shit. I-" I was quickly cut off my fathers loud groan.

"Don't you pull that studying shit with me, Harold! I know you guys will go to your room and jack off to those goddamn playboys like every goddamn day! Don't you think for one damn second that I'm stupid, because I'm not!" He roared. Mom quickly came by me and Louis and Dad yelled.

"Anne! Don't you even try to protect him!" He shouted. She nodded and trudged into the kitchen with Louis right behind her.

I gulped and followed Des upstairs. I threw my backpack onto my bed in my room. I watched him close the door and turned around to look at me.

"I got a call today. A call from the principal. You've been ditching some of your classes?" He roared. I shrugged. "Yeah.. I'm not gonna sit here and just lie to your face. I've been ditching my classes. There. You heard it from me." I admitted smugly. Des flared his nostrils angrily.

"Why though, Harry? You're gonna fail High School! You're not gonna make it out there in the real world! What the fuck goes through that dumbass head of yours! Are you too busy getting drunk or high to think of your choices, Harold?" He yelled. I shrugged. "I just don't fucking care, dad. I never did. I never will." I said harshly. I could see his temper started to rise more, his nostrils flaring and his hands balling into fists.

"I didn't wanna do this, Harry... But I'm gonna have to teach you somehow that you need to respect me and start to get back on track at school." My dad said in the calmest voice he could muster. Oh shit. I knew what he was gonna do. I knew it. He hasn't done it in a while since the past weeks I've been escaping from home and hanging with Liam or Louis.

"Dad.. Please don't. I-I swear I'll be good. I won't disobey you!" I shouted. He raised his fist and scoffed.

"As if." Then his fist landed in my face and I toppled backwards onto the floor, face first, I couldn't even feel the pain from the punch since my face was numb. I tried standing up, but soon his foot landed in my gut which sent me back onto the ground. I let out a yelp, but that didn't stop him from continuing to hurt me even more.

Louis Point of View:

"Oh God.. My poor baby." Anne murmured in a pained voice. I looked over at her to see that she was crying heavily at every yelp or scream Harry let out from upstairs.

"I told him not too.. I told him not too.." Anne murmured to herself, she must have forgotten that I was next to her. That was alright, everyone always forgot that I was there with them. I heard the loudest scream come from upstairs and it made Anne jump slightly and just cry even more. I quickly bolted for the door, ignoring her calling out my name. I ran fast and quick down the sidewalk. Something I hadn't done in a while, but soon I collided into someone, sending me backwards.

"Ugh. Watch where you're walking." A familiar female voice said. I gulped and looked up to see that Daphne was brushing dirt off her dress, once she saw that it was me, she sighed.

"Sorry Lou. Here, let me help you-" Daphne bent down to collect some things that had fallen from my bag, but I quickly grabbed what I saw to stuff into my bag.

"No no no no. I got this!" I shouted. Daphne looked at me dumbfounded."Louis.. Are you okay? Look I'm sorry about today." She apologized. I shook my head and slung my backpack over my shoulder, obviously leaving some items behind and just continued to run.

Harry's Point of View:

I laid down on the floor, clutching at my stomach. It hurt. Everything. Hurt. I could hear the sink going off in the bathroom, most likely Des trying to get the blood off his hands. I winced as I tried to reach for my phone which had scattered to the end of the room. I grabbed it and quickly dialed the first number I saw. I needed to get out of here, no matter who I called, I needed to get out now. After a few rings, the person answered.

"Hello?" Claire answered. I immediately kicked myself mentally. Did I just call Claire? What the actual fuck. But hey.. I needed to stay someplace and Liam's shitty apartment with his mom was a no go and Louis' depressing house was another no go. Looks like this was my actual last resort.

"C-Claire?" I tried to say, took me a few tries, but I said it. There was a pause."Harry? Is this you? Why the hell are you calling me? Is this some sick joke because I am not pleased." Claire said annoyed. I winced.

"No.. Claire.. I ne-need somewhere to stay." I whispered. More silence."Harry... What happened? Are you okay?" Claire asked alarmed. So now she believed me.

"Just.. Shit happened alright? I'm pretty busted up and I can't really move without screaming.. I just need to get out of my house, Claire." I said in the most pained voice. Claire sighed.

"Fine. I'll come by and get you. Will your parents mind?" Claire asked. I gulped and listened downstairs instinctively. Des must have been gone or the TV would have been on and Mom must be in the bedroom trying to relax.

"No.. They-They won't mind, Claire.. Just please come and get me. I just need a place to stay for one night and my ann-annoying ass will be gone by tomorrow morning." I promised. Claire sighed.

"Alright then. Stay where you are. I'll come and get you and bring you back to my place." She said. I smiled slightly, but it hurt."Thanks." I said, but before I could say anymore, the line went dead, groaning, I tried to pick myself up, but I wounded up collapsing back on the floor. This sucked.

Riley's Point of View:

Out of nowhere, my door swung open, I looked up from my notebook to see Claire standing in my room, she charged over to me and spat.

"Listen. I'm having a friend stay over for the night. Now I want you to stay in this room all night and part of the morning. I don't want this friend knowing that you're my sister and that you live with me. Got it?"

I gulped and nodded.

"Yeah.. I got it Claire. I'll just stay in my room all night and not come out of my room." I said. She nodded and straightened up.

"Don't make too much noise either. I don't want them thinking we got an extra person living here either. So keep everything quiet." She added. I nodded. Darcy sighed and left the room, closing the door shut behind her. I looked down at my notebook, I didn't even know what I was even sketching, I was just allowing my hands to draw freely, immediately I gasped at who I had drawn. Big mouth, dark brown hair, a clear smirk across the face. I quickly closed the notebook and threw it under my bed. I couldn't draw him, ever.

Many minutes passed when I heard the front door open, I heard Claire's voice immediately.

"Okay. Just lay there on the couch, I'll get you some ice for those nasty bruises you have."

After that, I couldn't really hear anything but a low incoherent mumble. More moments passed when I heard Claire voice again.

"Here you go. Ugh. What even happened, Harry? You look so busted up." Claire said in a bit of a pained voice, but wait.. Harry? She brought Harry home?

".. Thanks Claire. Ugh. I got this by.. Uhm.. I was playing football with Louis. The fucker has a good aim and hit me pretty good in the face and stomach." Harry said, his voice sounded weak. I stood up and put my ear by the door, listening intently.

"God. The kid must have a good aim. Well.. At least he's starting to be more open now. I've barely heard the kid say a word since what happened last semester." Claire said. Harry merely yelped. I winced myself hearing someone else in pain. Sure Harry can be mean and rude, but no one deserves pain and obviously he's in great pain.

"Look. Can I take your guest room for the night? I don't wanna mess my back up by sleeping on this couch." Harry asked. I froze. I was in the guest room.. Well it had turned into my bedroom.

"Uh.. Uh.. No. Uhm.. I mean.. My mom put a bunch of crap in there and its cluttered. Looks like you'll have to sleep on the couch tonight." Claire stammered. I gulped. Harry sighed heavily "Fine.. I'll sleep here for tonight. Just thanks for letting me stay here." That was just odd.. Him apologizing.

"No problem. I'll let you rest. Just holler for me if you need me, I'll be in my room, If I don't answer, holler for Helen, she'll take care of you." Claire said. After a muffled sound, she retreated upstairs, I quickly scattered back to my bed and pulled my notebook out to a brand new page, pretending to sketch something else. I heard the door open and I looked to see Claire peeking in.

"Just making sure you're still in here." She murmured before closing the door and retreating back to her room. I sighed and looked down at the blank page, instead of sketching something new, I flipped back to the previous page. To seeing his face that I sketched. A surprising smile creeped up on my lips. But I quickly faltered the smile and closed the notebook, throwing it under my bed once again. I couldn't be thinking of him like that. I already knew him for one day and he was already bad news to me. It had to stay that way.


	4. Feed The Hunger

Riley's Point of View:

I spent the majority of that night in my room. I laid there in bed, in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling. It felt awkward to sleep in this house with Harry just asleep downstairs. It wasn't the same to me. I sat up in bed as soon as I heard a knock on my door.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" It was Harry. Oh God. I didn't say a word as I rolled off the bed and immediately pulled myself under the bed.

After a few moments I heard the door creak open and I saw Harry walk in. "Ugh. Claire lied. It isn't crowded in here at all." Harry said in a weak voice. I heard him wince as he walked over to the bed. He stood by the bedside table and he started going through the drawers, picking up my stuff. All my pens, my paper, anything valuable in there. Then he came across my diary. No.

"Heh. A diary? Whoever stays here has a diary? Is this Claire's?" Eli asked himself, he tried to pick at the lock, but no avail. He scoffed.

"Stupid locks on diaries. Its not like I wanna read her and Declan's sex filled dreams anyway. Gross." Harry complained as he shoved the diary back into the drawer. I felt the bed shift as he sat on it.

"Stupid fucking house. Stupid fucking everything." He said in a low voice. He was obviously talking to himself.

"I hate it here. I hate it there. I hate it fucking everywhere. I wish everyone including me could just disappear. I'd be.. Happy." He whispered.

"Everything is fucked though. That shit won't happen. This isn't some Houdini crap. This is fucking reality. Shit's gonna happen."

For the strangest reason, I wanted to crawl from the underneath the bed and just comfort him. Even though he can be rude and mean.. he was going through a lot from what I heard. I felt really bad. But I didn't. I stayed where I was.

The bed shifted and I saw Harry limp his way back to the door and before he opened the door he mumbled.

"Such a girly room. Who the fuck would stay here? I'd vomit from all the pink and purple." Harry spat before leaving the room.

Once the door clicked, I crawled from the bed and brushed the dust off of me. I started looking into my drawers, seeing if he stole anything, he didn't, he just threw everything back in here messily. I spent the next fifteen minutes reorganizing my pencils, papers, my diary, all my personal belongings. I stood up and looked at my bedside table. My lamp was still there, off of course. The ipod Helen bought me still sat on its Bose unused of yet. My new cell phone sat behind the lamp, unseen. But something was missing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it until later. When I realized what was missing, I slightly gasped and sighed.

My snow globe was missing.

Harry stole my snow globe.

The next morning, I was awoken by the loud buzz that came from my phone. I yawned and grabbed my phone, turning off the alarm, I sat the phone back down and sat up. I saw the light coming from the crack in my curtains. After getting out of bed, I quickly put on my clothes and curled my hair the way Helen showed me too with a curling iron. I put on a bit of lip gloss and slung my bag over my shoulder. I was ready to walk out the door when Claire came marching in, she closed the door and looked at me.

"Did you let Harry in here last night?" Darcy asked. I gulped and shook my head.

"No.. I didn't let him in here, Claire." I said softly. She scoffed.

"That's bullshit. Harry bitched at me this morning saying that the guest room was open and now he's pissed that I didn't let him sleep in here." Claire said bitterly. "So why would you even let him in here when I told you not too?" she asked.

"I didn't let him in here. He walked in and I hid under the bed. He went through my stuff for about twenty minutes before leaving and going back to the couch." I said. Claire sighed.

'Well.. Whatever he did. At least he doesn't know you live here. Thank god mom doesn't have any pictures of you hanging around either, that's just creepy, but anyway. Just try to avoid that situation again." she said, she spun for the door when I reached out to grab her arm, but she jerked back.

"What?" Claire spat.

"Are you driving me to school today?" I asked. She scoffed.

"Uh no. Hello. I have Harry waiting for me to drop him off downstairs. You'll need to find a ride another way." She said with a smug look. "Have fun." Darcy said before leaving my room. I groaned and after a couple minutes I left my room and looked downstairs to check if Claire and Harry were gone.

They were.

I walked into the kitchen to see Helen twirling car keys.

"Looks like I'll be driving you to school today." Helen said with a smile. I sighed.

"I guess you are." I said. Helen walked over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek."I'm sorry that Claire is ashamed of you sweetheart. She's just.. Still trying to get use to everything. Eventually it will all sink in for her and she'll accept you." Helen reassured me. I shrugged.

"Time to get you to school so you can get your learning on!" Helen said cheerfully. I groaned."Just please get to me to school, Helen. Please." I begged. Helen smiled and we walked out the front door together.

I tried my best to walk through the huge mass of people walking down the hall after many "excuse me's" later I made it to my locker. I pulled my locker combination out and started to open my locker when I heard a some voices by me.

"What's with the sunglasses, Styles? You look like some Hollywood douche bag." Liam said. I looked from the corner of my eye that Liam had walked up to Harry with Sarah. Harry was indeed wearing oversized sunglasses.. That were Claire's. Oh God.

"I have sensitive eyes, douche bag." Harry spat. Liam chuckled.

"Are you hiding something behind those shades, man?" He teased. Harry scoffed.

"No. Stop bugging me about it dude." 

Soon I heard the sound of something clanging in the ground. I look down to see that Claire's sunglasses that Harry was wearing were on the ground, broken. Sarah placed a hand over her mouth in shock and Liam widened his eyes as his smile faltered.

Liam quickly scattered to pick up the broken sunglasses.

"I'm so sorry man. I.. I didn't think that you were hiding that big of a black eye. Goddamn." Liam murmured as he handed the broken pieces to Harry. Harry shoved them out of his hand.

"Just go, Liam. Sarah, you too. I wanna be alone right now." He said angrily. Liam nodded and started to pull Sarah away, but Sarah stayed put and put a hand forward towards Harry's face.

"What happened, Harry? Why is it so bruised? You can barely open your eye." She said concerned. Harry swatted her hand away though. "Don't Sarah. Just go off with Liam." Harry muttered lowly. She sighed and walked off.

I realized that I was still staring at Harry when he looked at me and snapped.

"Wanna take a picture or something? It'll last you longer."

I gulped and looked back at my locker before I could stare longer at his nasty black eye. It was swollen badly and purple around the edges. It looked horrible.

I slammed my locker shut loudly and I heard some books fall and I saw it had scared Harry. I quickly bent down to help him pick them up.

"I'm so sorry." I apologized. Harry swatted my hands away.

"Don't even fucking apologize, freak. What the fuck is wrong with you though?" He spat.

I furrowed my brows.

"I.. Don't understand.. What did I do that was so bad?" I asked in a small voice. Harry groaned.

"Don't pull that dumb shit on me, freak. You slam your locker around here like its alright or some shit like that! That isn't cool!" 

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't think it would scare you." I apologized again.

"Don't apologize. Just fucking admit that it was a shit thing to do." He said. I gulped and looked down at my shoes.

"I'm waiting." He said impatiently. I shrugged."Uhm.. It was a bad thing to do." I said. Harry scoffed.

"No. No. That won't work, freak. I want you to say 'That was a fucked thing to do.'" Harry said with a smirk. I gasped softly.

"I don't curse, Harry. I'm not gonna say the F word." I said in a small voice.

His smirk turned into a grimace.

"Do it. Or I'll tell the whole school that you're some nasty slut with a social disease." Harry threatened. I groaned and sighed.

"Fine, me slamming my locker was a fucked thing to do." I cursed. I bit my lip afterwards.

I looked up to see Harry smirking.

"Nice language there, freak. There's always a first for everything." He said before walking off.

I hadn't even realized that the bell had rung.

Sigh.

Louis' Point of View:

I sat in the gym watching as Liam and Shawn Mendes played basketball against together. I remember when I did that. When I was a jock. An athlete. A jerk. A asshole.

I was so fucked up.

I'm still fucked up.

I'm just a fuck up that doesn't use his voice.

"Hey man! You can't just take the ball and run!" Shawn yelled.

I looked up to see that Liam had stolen the ball and instead of dribbling, he was running around hugging it.

I smiled slightly at the scene before me.

"Hey. The ladies are here." Shawn said with a smile. I looked up to see that Sarah had walked in with Daphne. The new girl that Harry taunts, Riley was walking close behind holding a book to her chest like she could hide behind it.

Sarah immediately ran up to Liam and stole his basketball.

"Its my turn." Sarah started to run with the basketball and ran out of the gym. Liam chortled.

"Oh that girl is gonna get it." Liam soon chased after her. Shawn looked at them in despair."Oh come on guys! I just wanted to play basketball!" Shawn chased after them as well. I felt oddly alone in the gym with just Daphne and Riley in here. Riley mumbled something in Daphne's ear and Daph nodded as Riley walked off and into the girl's washroom.

This just made it more awkward.

Daphne walked over to me and I grabbed my backpack ready to sling it over my shoulder when she rushed over to me, placing her hand on my arm.

"Louis. Stop." She murmured.

Her touch was amazing. I could remember when we'd always touch last semester.

During kisses.

During make outs.

During our first time together.

So many moments.

Those moments ended when Daphne removed her hand from me and sat down.

"Sit down, Louis. I wanna talk." She said. I groaned and sat next to her.

"What about?" I asked in a small voice.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a needle.

My heart. God. She found it.

"Yesterday when we bumped into each other, this fell out of your bag.. Uhm.. I was wondering if you were doing drugs?" Daphne asked.

I immediately grabbed the needle from her hand and shoved it in my bag.

"None of your damn business, Daph." I spat. She sat there in shock.

"Louis. No one carries a needle around for no damn reason, unless they're into drugs. Are you shooting up heroin?" She asked, concerned. I scoffed."No Daphne. Anyway it isn't your damn problem." I said harshly.

I quickly walked off before she could say another word. I started to run.

Fast.

Faster.

I ran past Liam and Sarah who were fighting over a basketball. Liam yelled something after me but I ignored it and just continued.

I allowed my feet to take me wherever.

And that place was a grave.

Out of breath and I leaned forward, placing my hands on my knees as I leaned forward. Once I was able to catch my breath I threw my backpack on the ground and sat down before the grave."Hey bro.." I said softly.

The wind rustled slightly and I looked at the name engraved into the grave.

Niall Horan.

I gulped and started messing with my hands.

"I-I miss you bro.. I know it's been four months since what happened. Since.. Since you left us." I stammered.

More silence passed by.

"I love you.. No matter that you were... You were always a brother to me." I said.

Then I felt the urge come over me again.

The hungry urge.

I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder and murmured."Sorry Niall. I have too.. You know I have too.. I love you.. I'm sorry. Bye."

And like that I was off again.

Off to feed the hunger.


	5. A Different Side of Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an important chapter. Riley's big secret is revealed and Harry softens up a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riley's big secret revealed.

Harry's Point of View:

The pass three days have been quite easy. Nothing big has happened. I've returned back to my house that day after sleeping at Claire's, not to see my dad, but because I couldn't stand to see my mom cry.

Seeing Anne cry was torture and she knew me well enough to use it against me. Which was of course unfair, but also I didn't wanna be staying at Claire's either, Claire seemed so hesitant and uneasy in her own house, always looking upstairs. Like some big secret is in the house.

Whatever.

None of my damn business anyway.

I opened my locker to pull out my English textbook, shoving it in my backpack, but I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned around quickly to find myself face to face with the freak herself, Riley.

"What do you want?" I spat as I looked down at Riley. I hadn't realized how small and little she really was. I shouldn't even being realizing that. She swallowed and reached into her bag, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. The same sunglasses that Claire had let me borrow three days ago when my black eye had been unbearable to look at.

"I uhm.. I glued them back together for you." She said in a small voice. I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Why in the hell would you do that? I never asked you to." I scoffed. Riley shrugged and held out the sunglasses.

"Your black eye still looks pretty bad and I figured I'd do something nice for God and I chose to repair those sunglasses for you." Riley explained.

"God?" I asked in the most confused voice I could muster. She nodded.

"Yeah God. Lord almighty. Jesus Christ. Virgin Mary. All of those. It's my religion, Harry. I decided to be nice to God for all he has done for me and I decided to be a nice person because God likes to see that his creations are nice rather than mean." Riley said. I gulped and carefully took the sunglasses from her.

"Erm.. That's.. nice then." I said confused. Riley smiled slightly, showing some of her dimples.

"No problem. They should be useful to you as they were for Clai-" Before Riley could finish her sentence, Liam strolled up with Sarah, his arm slung across her shoulders.

"Harry! How it goes?" Liam said enthusiastically. I smirked.

"Pretty good, Li. Hey Sarah." I said, my voice softer when I said Sarah's name. She smiled and bit her lip softly. A sign of what was to happen next period. For us anyway.

"Hey. Why is the new chick here?" Liam asked looking at Riley. Sarah looked over at Riley and quickly put her head down, as if she was ashamed for even being social with her.

Immediately I scoffed and looked at Riley.

"Oh. She's just being a good little Christian and decided to preach her religion crap to me." I spat with a smirk.

Riley's smile fell from her face and was soon unreadable.

"Go preach your Jesus shit to Jesus club." Liam teased. "I'm sure they'll looooove to hear about your little crush on Haz here. Isn't that a sin though? Crushing on a person? Will you being going to hell?" Liam questioned. I snorted and looked at Riley, her face was still unreadable, but she scowled for the first time ever.

"If I go there, I'll be seeing you there." Riley spat before brushing past us and down the hall quickly. I looked at Liam to see that his fists were clenched.

"That prude bitch. She needs to get fucking laid to calm her nerves." he scoffed. Sarah placed her hand on his face.

"Liam.. Baby calm down. Riley means no harm.. Sometimes." She defended. Liam swatted her hands away.

"That's bullshit, Sarah. You hate that prude just as much as everyone else. You said so yourself. Remember?" he said. She gulped and nodded.

"Yeah.. I remember." Sarah said. Liam rolled his eyes and looked at me.

"So. Are you going to Jake's party tonight?" Liam asked with a smile. I shrugged."I don't know man. Maybe I'll just stay home and skip out on this party." I said as I shut my locker.

He looked at me with his mouth gaped.

"Dude. You never miss a party. Never. Plus Jake RARELY has parties because of his 'rents." Liam said. I sighed."Yeah, but.. My dad doesn't want me going out and all that shit. Wants me to stay home and study for tests." I said. Liam snorted.

"Since when has your old man ever stopped you? You always go out anyway. Its who you are, Styles. Plus a party is never the same without you and your drunk tactics." he said as he mock punched my arm, I held back a wince from the pain."Yeah.. I'll go then." I said with a smirk. He smiled.

"That's my man. So I'll pick you up around seven? I'm sure I'll have Sarah and Louis with me too. See you tonight man!" Liam yelled before walking off with his arm around Sarah's shoulders. I sighed and slung my backpack over my sore shoulder. A party was what I needed. A good drink or two was what I needed as well. The party wouldn't be a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.

Riley's Point of View:

I walked into the cafeteria during lunch period with Daphne and Fiona walking in front of me talking about their History quiz, well mostly Daphne since Fiona prefers to just nod and "hmm" at everything.

Once we reached our table, I sat down and placed my head in my hands. I had a horrible headache that started in first period and hasn't left all day. Daphne's ramble wasn't helping my headache either.

"So Riles. Are you going to Jake's party?" Daphne asked. I looked up in confusion."What?" I asked. She smiled.

"My brother, Jake. He's throwing a party at our house. Our parents are at some Bollywood weekend thing. It's gonna be awesome. He said I could invite my friends if I wanted too, he only invited me because I threatened to tell mom and dad if he didn't, but anyway. I'm taking Fiona with me. Wanna come too?" she asked. I shrugged."I don't think so, Daphne. I've never been to a party, they aren't my thing. They get loud and I don't think so." I murmured softly. She sighed.

"Come on, Riley. It'll be fun. Jake will make it fun with his awkwardness." Daphne reassured me. I shrugged and soon I heard the same familiar voice I heard this morning.

"Oh God. Please don't tell me you're going to Jake's party?" Harry groaned. Daphne turned around and scoffed.

"He's my brother and invited me asshole. Probably just invited you to see you get drunk and make a ass out of yourself." She spat. Eli chuckled at her words.

"Hah. As if. He invited me because he likes me. Unlike he HAD to invite you. Pretty retarded if you ask me." Harry said.

Daphne then stood up from her seat and started arguing with him. I just groaned and laid my head on the table. My head was absolutely killing me. The instant throbbing pain was just terrible.

I felt a hand on my arm and I looked up slowly to see that Fiona was sitting next to me.

"Are you okay, Riley?" Fiona asked softly. I nodded and lifted my head."I just have a headache.. Nothing big." I whispered.

"You're cheeks are really red. Either you're blushing really hard or you have a fever." Fiona said and before I could tell her no, she already had her hands on my face.

"You're really warm, hun. Maybe you should go home." Fiona said concerned. I shook my head and stood up.

"I-I just need something from my locker and I'll be fine." I said in a weak voice. I hadn't realized how wobbly my legs were, but I held onto the chair for support as I stood up.

"Riles? Where are you going?" Daphne asked, stopping her argument with Harry. I shook my head."I'm going to get something I need from my locker." I said quietly as I tried to get past her, but she placed her hands on my face.

"Babe. Your face is burning up. You need to go to the nurses office." she said in the same concerned voice Fiona used.

I shook her hands away.

"No.. I'm fi-fine. I'm just a little diz-" and before I could even finish my sentence, I felt more light headed and finally collapsed, although before I was completely under I felt strong arms catch me and hold me up, but before I could see who it was,

I was out.

…

My head was throbbing still. My body ached. I felt horrible. I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a cot in the nurses office.

I sat up slowly and saw Daphne and Fiona standing in the doorway.

"Hey. You're finally awake." Fiona murmured softly. I groaned as I swung my legs over the bed and looked at them.

"What happened?" I asked weakly. Daphne sighed.

"You were being stubborn and didn't wanna come here awake, but you winded up fainting from your fever in the cafeteria." she explained. I groaned.

"Oh God.. That's so embarrassing. I bet I hit the ground hard huh?" I asked softly. Fiona shook her head."Actually no.. Harry caught you." she said. I scrunched my brows together.

"Harry caught me?" I questioned. Daphne nodded and Fiona spoke up."And not only that, but he carried you into here too. Laid you right on the cot. I didn't know he was able to do something caring." Fiona murmured. Daphne smiled at her and looked back to me.

"He's actually still talking to nurse explaining what happened. He felt like he knew what happened better than us. Whatever." Daphne said, rolling her eyes. I hopped off the cot and felt a wave of dizziness overcome me.

The girls rushed over to me, grabbing each of my arms and steadying me. They both slowly led me to the main office where Harry was talking to the nurse.

The tall boy looked over at us and walked over.

"Hey.. You look a bit better. Not so red faced." Harry said as he looked me over. He seemed kinder, more caring than the regular Harry that I know.

"Uhm. Thanks for er.. Catching me back there. A bump wouldn't be good with my headache anyway." I said. He nodded and quickly left the office without saying another word. "That was exceptionally weird." Fiona said. I nodded slowly.

"Are you going home? Or are you gonna stay here?" Daphne asked looking at me.

"I'm gonna stay. Its just a headache nothing big." I said.

Daph looked at Fiona and Fiona raised a eyebrow, they didn't say anymore as we walked down the hall, but soon I saw my locker and stopped.

"You two can go to the cafeteria. I have to get something from my locker." I said.

Both girls nodded before walking off into the cafeteria.

I walked up to my locker and unlocked it, I rummaged around until I found what I needed in the back of the locker.

A bottle of pills and a water bottle.

I quickly unscrewed the pill cap and shook out two pills and I popped the two pills in my mouth and took a gulp of the last of my water.

I shoved my pills back in my locker and threw my bottle away. The pills were suppose to kick into affect and start making my fever go away and my headache to disappear, but it didn't work.

I slid down the locker and pressed my head against the cool lockers, but my fever had warmed them immediately.

I closed my eyes and swallowed, feeling how dry my throat really was.

I heard footsteps down the hall, but I didn't bother opening my eyes or moving. I didn't wanna move.

Whoever was walking down the hall stopped in front of me and I slowly opened my eyes to see it was none other than Harry.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice held some concern. I shrugged.

"I'm fine. I'm just resting." I said, closing my eyes again.

Surprisingly, I felt his hands on my forehead. I quickly opened my eyes at his touch, he was kneeling in front of me.

"You're really warm, Riley." Harry said. I didn't even try to shake his hands off my face, all I did was look at him and smile.

"You called me "Riley"." I mumbled. I could see that he smiled back, an actual smile. Something I had not seen.

Soon I was scooped into Harry's arms again, instead of fighting him, I just leaned my head onto his shoulder, I was too weak and tired to even fight him.

I knew that later when I was coherent and not half asleep, I would realize that this was dumb, but I was okay in his arms. They were warm.

Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I found myself awake hours later, looking at a picture.

An old tattered picture.

It was a picture of me and my real parents.. Before they died.

I was about six or seven in the picture, I looked happy with them.

Really happy.

But they certainly weren't.

My mom died of having HIV. It officially turned into AIDS and her medication didn't work anymore, she eventually lived her days out in her bed, slowly dying.

My dad couldn't deal with my mom's death, so days after her death, he handed me off to the orphanage and took off.

And to this day I have no clue where he's at.

But I find myself angry with them, mostly my mother. Mostly for what she's done to me.

She was a nice mom, very caring, very loving, I remember that clearly.

It was just that she gave me her disease.

She gave me her HIV when I was in her womb.

I'm infected because of the things she use to do before marrying my father.

I saw tears fall onto the picture, I soon realized that I was crying.

Something I hadn't done in a while.

Something that felt good.


End file.
